Gate-operating mechanism.



No. 882,984. PATENTED MAR.'24, 1908.

H. H. WILLIAMS. GATE OPERATING MECHANISM. Y APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 882,984. PATENTED MAR. 24-. 1908.

H. H. WILLIAMS. 8 GATE OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

witnesses v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. WILLIAMS, OF SAVANNAH, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-SIXTH TO ARGHIBALD U. WALKER, ONE-SIXTH TO HARDIN E. ROSS, AND ONE-SIXTH TO JOHN W. ROSS, OF SAVAN- NAH, TENNESSEE.

GATE-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Patented March 24, 1908.

Serial No. 386,280.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. WILLIAMS, a citizen of the .United States, residing at Savannah, in the county of Hardin and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Grate-Operating Mechanism, of which the following 1s a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in operating and locking devices for gates and the like, and it has for its object to provide improved mechanism of this character whereby the unlocking and locking, and the opening and closing movements of the gate may be easily performed at either side of the gate, so that it is unnecessary for one to dismount from a horse or vehicle to accomplish these results, the unlocking being accomplished automatically by the same part which causes the opening movement of the gate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of this character that will also retain the gate in open position so as to prevent its accidental closing during the passage of the vehicle therethrough.

To these and other ends, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and combination and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out particularly in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings z-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gate provided with operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the gate and its operating mechanism in open position. Fig. 3 is a de tail perspective view showing the relative position of the parts of the operating mechanism after the gate has been unlocked and has started to open.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

Operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention is capable of being used in connection with gates and analogous devices of various kinds, it being shown applied to a gate of ordinary con struction in the present embodiment of the invention, and it is provided with operating levers which project a suitable distance on opposite sides of the gate in order to permit the latterto be manipulated at a sufliciently distant point.

The gate 1, in the present instance, is hinged to a post 2 at one side and is provided with a latch member which cooperates with a similar member on the post 3, the latter engaging the free end of the gate when it is in closed position. Any suitable form of looking device may be employed, that shown comprising a reciprocatory member 4 guided to slide longitudinally through a air of guides 5 and 6 on the gate and arrange to cooperate with a latch 7 which is ivoted on the post 3, the latch engaging the ocking member automatically as the gate swings into closed position, and the locking member being engaged from the latch by a retracting movement in a direction transversely of the latch. The locking member is normally held in operative position by means of a suitable spring 8 one end of which is fixed to the gate and its 0 posite end engages the locking member. order to permit the gate to be unlocked while the operator is in close proximity thereto, it is preferable to provide an unlocking member 9 which is pivoted to the gate at 10 and has its lower end arranged to engage a projection 1 1 on the locking member,

the upper end o'f the lever projecting above the upper edge of the gate and providing a handle by means of which the locking member may be retracted by a turning movement of the lever. The projection 11 and a similar projection 12 are arranged on opposite sides of the guide 5 and are adapted to cooperate therewith to limit the longitudinal movement of the locking member.

On that end of the gate adjacent to the hinges is rigidly secured a bracket 14 having a pair of lugs 15 and 16 projecting laterally of the plane of the gate, a brace 17 preferably extending from the outer end of the bracket to the free end of the gate in order to reinforce the bracket and secure it firmly in a given relation to the gate. Ofiset to one side of the gate is a post or support 18, the gate operating mechanism being interposed be tween this post and the bracket on the gate. The operating mechansim employed in the present instance comprises, generally, a toggle composed of the members 19 and 20 pivotally connected at their proximate ends by a pivot pin 21 and provided with pivot members 22 and 23 at their outer ends, a pair of horizontal pivot pins 24 and 25 serving to connect the outer ends of the toggle members to the pivot members in a manner that will permit a relative vertical movement of the toggle members. The pivot members are pivotally connected to the post 18 and the bracket 14, respectively, in a manner that willpermit a relative pivotal movement of the toggle members in a horizontal plane, the pivot member 22 being connected by a pivot pin 26 to a bracket 27 fixed to the post 18, while the pivot member 23 is connected to the lugs15 and 16 on the gate bracket'by means of a pivot pin 28. In order'to support the toggle members in horizontal alinement, it is preferable to provide a stop 29, and, in order to return the toggle members to a horizontal position after they have been elevated or folded, it is preferable to provide a suitable weight 30 on one of the members. The toggle member 20 in the present instance is extensible, that is to say, it is capable of being lengthened and shortened, and this will enable the toggle to be adjusted so that when the gate is in either open or closed position, the toggle members will be in alinement, thereby locking the gate from movement. The locking member is provided with an actuating rod 31 that is guided by a clip 32 on the brace 17 and it is jointed at 33 and 34 in order that it may not interfere with the pivotal movements of the gate and the toggle members.

The actuating rod 31 is operatively connected to a bell crank 35 which is pivoted referably on the pivot 24 and is capable of a iimited degree of pivotal movement relatively to the adjacent toggle member 19 by the strap 36 which embraces the toggle member and forms an operative connection between the latter and the bell crank after the latter has turned through a predetermined angle. The bell crank is rotated about its pivot by means of a rod 37 and the latter in turn is operated by means of a pair of links 38 and 39 which are pivotally attached to the inner ends of a pair of operating levers 40 and 41,

the latter being fulcrumed on posts 42 and 43 which are arranged on opposite sides of the gate. The free ends of the levers are provided with depending cords or other devices by means of which they may be operated, and it is preferable to provide the levers with weights 44 and 45 which serve to normally keep the levers in inoperative position.

Whenever it is desirable to open a gate provided with operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, the operating lever at the side of the gate from which it is approached is tilted, causing the bell crank to turn about the pivot 24 and causing a longitudinal movement of the actuating rod 21, the latter serving to retract the locking member sufliciently to disengage it from the latch 7. A continued movement of the bell crank will cause a folding movement of the toggle members, the

distance between the ends thereof being thereby shortened, and this will cause the gate to turn toward an open position, and the momentum will serve to continue the movement of the gate until it reaches the open position shown in Fig. 2, the toggle members at this time being straightened or in alinement to prevent swinging movement of the gate in either direction. When it is desirable to close the gate, it is only necessary to operate one of the levers, the bell crank being turned to lift the toggle members. and start the gate toward closed position, the momentum of the gate serving to complete the movement and the toggle members straightening out, as shown in Fig. 1. As the gate swings into closed position, the locking member thereon will swing beneath the latch 7, the latter operating automatically to prevent opening movement of the gate until it has been properly unlocked.

Instead of operating the gate from a dis tant point, as just described, it may be more convenient, in some cases, to operate it at a point in proximity thereto, and this may be done by operating the lever 9 which serves to retract the locking member, the said lever being connected to a rod 46 which, in turn, is connected to a bell crank 47, the latter being pivoted on the bracket 14, as at 48, and provided with a laterally offset arm 49 which is arranged to engage beneath the toggle member 20, the bell crank 47 being turned when the lever 9 is operated, and the offset arm 49 thereon engaging beneath the toggle member 20 to lift it, the toggle being thereby lliIllOCkGCl so that the gate may be opened by and.

In practice, the gate may be constructed either with or without the latch, it being obvious that as the toggle members straighten when the gate is in either an open or closed position, the locking of the -ate will be effected without the use of a latch, but it is greatly preferable to employ one as it aflords security to the fastening of the gate.

What is claimed is 1. In a gate operating mechanism, a gate, an offset bracket fixed to the hinged end of the gate and having a brace rod connected to the outer end thereof and to the latch end of the gate, a support adjacent to the hinged end of the gate but spaced therefrom, a toggle connected at its two ends to the bracket and support, respectively, and so proportioned that when the gate is closed the toggle members are in alinement and when the gate is opened the toggle members are in the same position of alinement as when the gate is closed, an elbow lever pivoted to the toggle near its attachment to said support for fleX- ing said toggle, said elbow lever having a limited independent movement on said toggle, and means for operating the elbow lever and through the latter flexing the toggle to move the gate from the closed position to the opened position and from the open to the closed position, respectively.

2. In a gate operating mechanism, a gate, a laterally oflset bracket thereon,'a support adjacent to the gate, a toggle pivotally connected at the ends to the bracket and support, respectively, and so proportioned that its members are all in alinement when the gate is closed and in like alinement when the gate is opened, an elbow lever pivoted to the toggle near its attachment to said support and having a limited independent movement for unlatching the gate, roadside means for operating the elbow lever to first open the latch and then to flex the toggle to operate the gate in either direction, and means carried by the gate and in operative relation to but unconnected to the toggle for flexing the latter to open or close the gate.

3. In a gate operating mechanism, a gate having a laterally Oflset bracket thereon, a support adjacent to the gate, a toggle pivotally connected at its two ends to the support and bracket, respectively, a bell-crank lever connected to the toggle for flexing the same,

said bell-crank lever having a limited independent movement but acting onthe toggle, flexible connections extending from the bellcrank lever, and a latch on the gate operated by said flexible connection.

4. The combination with a gate having a laterally oflset bracket, and a reciprocating locking member for retaining the gate in closed position, and a support arranged adjacent to the gate, of a toggle pivotally connected to the support and to the bracket on the gate and capable of retaining the latter in two diflerent positions, a bell crank operatively connected to and capable of a limited pivotal movement relatively to one of the toggle members, and a connection between the bell crank and the locking device for unlocking the latter during the initial movement of the bell crank.

I11 testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY E. WILLIAMS. Witnesses:

R. KERR, OSCAR K. PETTY. 

